Longjiang 2

Description

Developed by the Harbin Institute of Technology, the twin Longjiang spacecraft, also known by the acronym DSLWP, were programmed to loop into orbit around the Moon as Queqiao flew by en route to its operating station beyond the moon.

The twin Longjiang spacecraft are designed to fly in formation to validate technologies for low-frequency radio astronomy observations, similar to the objectives of the Dutch experiment aboard the Queqiao relay craft. The microsatellites also carry optical cameras from Saudi Arabia, another example of the Chinese space program’s expanding portfolio of international partnerships.

Longjiang 2 entered a 350 x 13700 km altitude lunar orbit on 25 May 2018. By 31 July 2019 the orbit had decayed and Longjiang 2 impacted the Moon at 16.6956 N, 159.5170 E.